


End of the Rainbow

by Juliko



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13739031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliko/pseuds/Juliko
Summary: "The dewy, pink and red roses whose petals were as delicate as satin dresses. The lively, spritely purple lilacs, their little blooms all clustered together into a bundle. The eternally bright, sunny radiance of the sunflower, whose yellow petals were so bright, that if they were held to the sun, they would be blinding. The robust, delicate, drooping white petals of a snowdrop. Every flower was its own being, with their own unique beauty, voice, and personality. Flowers didn’t expect you to be perfect. All they needed was dirt, water, sunshine, and daily attention. Unless they were orchids. Orchids didn’t need to be lavished with attention daily. Even so, flowers were easy to love. Cam couldn’t imagine a life without his beloved flowers."When Kamil gets an order for a bouquet from Konohana, he's determined to get it delivered on time, come rain or shine.





	End of the Rainbow

It was much easier for Kamil “Cam” Flores to deal with flowers than with people.

The dewy, pink and red roses whose petals were as delicate as satin dresses. The lively, spritely purple lilacs, their little blooms all clustered together into a bundle. The eternally bright, sunny radiance of the sunflower, whose yellow petals were so bright, that if they were held to the sun, they would be blinding. The robust, delicate, drooping white petals of a snowdrop. Every flower was its own being, with their own unique beauty, voice, and personality. Flowers didn’t expect you to be perfect. All they needed was dirt, water, sunshine, and daily attention. Unless they were orchids. Orchids didn’t need to be lavished with attention daily. Even so, flowers were easy to love. Cam couldn’t imagine a life without his beloved flowers.

On one clear morning in Bluebell, Cam set up a blue stall just about ten feet away from the cafe. It wasn’t anything special, just a long, wooden table covered with a baby blue cloth. Flowers would be placed in small vases filled with water, basking in the sunshine, their petals caressed by the warm summer breeze. Flowers were always to the left side. Cam put piles of small seed packs on the left side of the table. Seeds for almost any flower one could hope to buy. In case a customer couldn’t afford a flower or didn’t want one, he’d give them the option of trying to grow their own flowers. Personally, he’d prefer it if people bought seeds instead of flowers. As much as he liked selling people flowers, he always found it interesting to see people try to grow flowers all by themselves.

The sun was shining down on tiny Bluebell. Cam could feel the heat on his skin. But a thought passed through his mind. If his flowers were exposed to too much sun, they could burn or wilt. He snapped his fingers. He needed to give his flowers some shade. But what could he use? Then the realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He still had that blue tarp! Cam rushed into the house, found the tarp, and dragged it outside. He was glad that he had some white metal pipes he could use to hold it up, along with a tall stool he could stand on.

With that in mind, Cam set to work putting the tarp up. The tarp itself wasn’t long. Just as tall as he, long enough to just cover the table and provide his flowers with much needed shade. The cafe door creaked open slowly, making that familiar squeaking sound it always made. Cam paid no attention, as he was already sliding the top of the pipe into one side of the tarp.

“Cam? What are you doing up there?” A friendly, willowy voice asked from down below.

A young lady about Cam’s age, with pale, sun colored hair tied into a braided bun, green eyes bright as the leaves on Cam’s flowers. The young woman tilted her head to one side, wondering just what her housemate was up to.

“What’s with the tarp? Last I checked, it’s not raining,” She pointed out.

“Good morning, Laney,” Cam replied, just as he finished sliding the tarp onto the other pipe. “There! That should do it.”

Mission complete, Cam stepped down from the stool, his feet back on solid ground. “Some of my flowers don’t like too much sun, so I figured they’d need some shade,” Cam explained, his body relaxing.

Laney couldn’t hold back a merry giggle. “You’d do anything for your flowers, wouldn’t you? I’ll bet you think they’re all princesses and that you’re their knight in shining armor.”

It was Cam’s turn to chuckle this time. He adjusted his purple hat slightly, cheeks turning red like roses. “You could say that.”

He had to admit, he envied Laney’s ability to know exactly what to say in any situation, even talking to him. It was easy for her to talk to anyone and everyone. But to Cam, talking to someone was like being on a stage, with a full audience, all eyes on him, and feeling like he was going to slip up and fail in front of everyone. Then again, he had known her since they were children, so he had long since grew comfortable with talking to her. Still, he couldn’t help but notice that she had grown quite pretty. She had always been pretty, but she seemed even more so today. Tiny white flower accessories dotted her hair. A deep red cardigan covered her long white shirt, and her navy blue skirt dotted with stars looked a little too long for her. But as far as Cam was concerned, she rocked that casual country girl look, even with her red socks and light brown boots.

It was at this point that he noticed a plastic bag hanging from one of her hands. “Did you make cheesecake again?” Cam asked.

Laney looked down, figuring he was looking at the bag. “This? Oh! Actually, I made some sweet potato pie last night,” Laney explained, her green eyes lighting up with delight as she held the bag in two hands this time. “I’m gonna stop by Georgia’s place and have her try some.”

Sweet potato pie? That was new. Cam raised an eyebrow. “There’s such thing as sweet potato pie?” Cam did like sweet potatoes. But could they actually be made into a pie? He hadn’t heard of any such thing before, and he lived in a cafe.

“I know, right?” Laney agreed. “I only just heard about it last night online. But I thought it’d be nice to try something new,” She pointed towards the cafe entrance. “I did leave some in the fridge if you want some.”

Cam could feel some heat rise to his cheeks as he sat down behind the table he set up. “Sure. I’ll probably have some for lunch later.”

Just as he began adjusting some flowers he put in one glass vase, Laney suddenly exclaimed, “Hi, Mayor Rutger!”

Rutger? Cam turned around. Sure enough, a man approached them wearing a black coat, brown pants, a yellowish brown sweater vest, a green tie, and a matching hat. The man’s pale blonde hair had thinned out over the years, but his blue eyes and posture were as lively and spritely as ever. Cam and Laney couldn’t help but stifle some laughs as they saw the man skip towards them, swinging his winged cane up and down. Cam pulled his hat down to hide his eyes, but Laney was quick to approach him.

“Good morning, Laney!” The old man--Mayor Rutger--greeted her with a smile just as radiant and bright as hers. “Good morning to you, too, Cam!”

“Morning…” Cam replied sheepishly in a low voice. He did like Rutger, and they did interact plenty of times in the past. Still, Cam couldn’t help but feel a little cowed by the mayor’s overly cheery demeanor.

“So what brings you here?” Laney asked. “The cafe isn’t open yet, so--”

Rutger waved his hand dismissively. “That’s quite alright. Actually…” The mayor put a hand in one of his coat pockets and pulled out a small card before walking towards Cam’s stall. “This is for you, Cam. It seems someone placed an order for a bouquet,” He explained further.

An order? A bouquet? Hearing that was enough to get Cam’s attention, and he took the card from the mayor gingerly. Looking at it closer, the writing was blocky, but still had a swift refinement about it. There weren’t any black ink smudges in sight. Whoever sent the card requested a bouquet consisting of red gerberas, pink dahlias, and white gladioli. Cam smiled as he read the card. He had plenty of those flowers on his person, as he had been growing them all last month. This didn’t seem like too tough of an order. But then he looked down at where the bouquet was to be delivered.

Konohana. The Eastern town over the mountain. Specifically, Gombe’s Seeds, the seed shop.

Laney leaned over to get a better look. “I guess even Konohana knows you sell great flowers,” She jested, waggling her eyebrows.

“It says here I need to deliver a bouquet by tomorrow night,” Cam read the card further. Both Laney and Rutger could see Cam’s eyebrows furrowing.

“Honestly, I’d rather not go anywhere near that confounded place,” Just hearing the name Konohana made Rutger’s normally cheery expression screw up into disgust. “I bet they’re only asking for Cam’s flowers because they don’t have any good seeds of their own!” He ranted out loud, tapping the end of his cane into the ground.

Laney shot an annoyed look at the mayor. “Come on, Mayor. Stop being so petty,” She scolded him gently. “Jeez, it really says something when your wife is more mature than you,” She grumbled under her breath, hoping he didn’t hear.

Her flower loving friend couldn’t help but nod in agreement. As much as they both liked their mayor, they both felt that this whole Bluebell-Konohana dispute was blown way out of proportion. Rutger certainly didn’t help his case by constantly insulting the mayor of that town and throwing insults at her like a petulant child, and he himself was a mayor! Couldn’t they just calm down, put their pride aside, and just talk to each other like actual adults? Cam could only sigh. He wished Rutger wouldn’t be so easily angered at even the thought of Konohana.

“I’d best get started then,” Cam slipped the card into his pocket and dashed over to the stall, sorting through his many piles of flowers.

“Setting up shop or starting the bouquet?” Laney asked.

“Bouquet. I have the flowers they need, so getting that done shouldn’t be a problem,” Cam replied, having already pulled out four red gerberas.

“But how are you going to get over the mountain? It’ll take at least several days to get across it on foot, and it’s not even that big!”

She didn’t get an answer, as Cam was already finished pulling out several white gladioli. He then grabbed a pink ribbon and some white paper before sitting down and starting on the bouquet. Once Cam had an order for flowers, he always set out to get started on it right away. Laney smiled, her previous worry having disappeared just like that. She knew he’d make it work out somehow. He always did, especially when it came to making others happy with his floral arrangements. Figuring he’d best not be disturbed, Laney simply waved goodbye and left Cam to his own devices. She even waved to Rutger while deliberately ignoring his continued ranting about Konohana and everyone in said town.

“...Next time I see her mug at next month’s cooking contest, we’re gonna show her Bluebell’s the best town there is! Konohana’s nothing compared to us! We’re far more civilized than they are!”

 _‘Oh, God. Do you ever listen to yourself, Mayor Rutger?’_ Laney thought to herself. Sometimes she couldn’t tell if the mayor was...well, an adult or an immature teenager. At least Cam had already tuned him out. He was good at that.

* * *

Business was slow today, so Cam was able to take all the time he needed to finish the bouquet. Thankfully, it only took him about two hours or so to make it look just right. He had to admit, whoever requested the bouquet must have had an eye for complimentary flower colors. The red gerbera petals were outstretched, intense, and exaggerated, like a beautiful autumn sky. The pink dahlias all looked like pink fluff balls making up one big piece of fluff when bunched together, making the gerberas stand out more. But the stems of white gladioli stuck out from the clump of gerberas and dahlias, their tiny white blooms pure and pristine as can be, like small clouds on a clear summer day.

Once the flowers were together, Cam wrapped a big piece of clear blue wrapping paper around the stems, then tying it together with a bright pink ribbon. The same pale, lively pink color as the dahlias. Cam took in a deep breath and wiped some sweat off his brow. The bouquet was finished! The easy part was finished. Now came the hard part: getting it to Konohana. What could he do? He thought of maybe mailing it to the address in question, but considering the tunnel was still closed off and how big the mountain was, it would probably take several days for it to arrive, and the recipient said they needed it by tomorrow night. Plus, there was the chance that whoever would take it across the mountain might get careless and ruin the flowers. Cross that one off the list. For obvious reasons, the tunnel was a no-go.

One idea did cross his mind. If he could borrow a horse and ride it over the mountain, he could get to Konohana by noon at the earliest, assuming he didn’t hit any delays. Cam nodded to himself. Yes, that would be the best course of action. He kept that thought in his mind even as he continued to sell flowers at his stall. When the sun was about to go down, Cam closed up shop and walked right over to the pet shop. It was only a ten foot walk away, so it was always in plain sight. He tapped his hand on the door twice.

“Coming!” A lively, energetic voice called out, with a more Southern, slightly rougher tone to it than Laney’s.

In no time at all, someone answered the door: a young woman with curling russet hair cascading down to her shoulders, and light amber eyes taking in his presence. The woman wore a sleeveless yellow sweater vest/hoodie combo over a long sleeved white shirt. He could see some strands of hay and straw sticking out from her olive green pants, and even on her brown and black wellington boots. Yes, she definitely had a farm girl look about her.

“Howdy, Cam,” The woman greeted him kindly, waving at him from the entrance. “I don’t see you around too often. How’s it goin’?”

“Very well, Georgia,” Cam could feel his face heat up. “I was hoping...I could ask you something.”

Georgia flashed a friendly smile in his direction. “Whatever you need.”

“Would it be alright if I...borrowed one of your horses?”

Georgia’s eyes widened a bit. “One of my horses? What for?”

Cam told her about the order for the bouquet from Konohana and his conundrum about getting there by tomorrow night. Georgia listened intently, with a hand on her chin, then looked right at him. “I think I have some good horses that can help. Here, I can show you.”

She escorted him to the stables, with each one having at least one horse inside. Black horses, brown horses, white horses, beige horses...all of them looked healthy and slender, with long, spindly legs that betrayed their hardiness and strength. Georgia beckoned for him to come to one stall she stood in front of. The horse in question was tall, with a long, graceful face, a slender neck, and very short, miniscule dark hair lining its neck.

“This here’s one of our fine Arabians, Amberlynn,” Georgia explained. Amberlynn, the Arabian horse, simply stole a glance at Cam before turning around. “She’s still young, but she’s plenty fast. She is kinda particular about her feed, though.”

Cam chuckled. “I don’t mind.”

“I don’t think you’ll be needing our Clydesdale or our Belgian horses. They’re mostly working horses,” Georgia mused, looking at the horses in the stables, deep in thought. “Oh!” She pounded a fist on the palm of her hand, an idea striking her like a lightning bolt. “I know who’ll be perfect!”

Just like that, she bounded over to one stable in the far back of the barn. Cam followed her and saw what she was talking about. Munching on some hay was a tall, elegant, beautiful black horse with a white rear end and lots of black spots on said rear. It looked more like it was half horse and half dalmatian dog. It did have some prominent, snowball shaped white spots on its face. Its mane and tail were the exact same shade of black as the upper half of its body.

“Now this girl’s a real jewel,” Georgia told him. She made some whistling noises, and the horse in question raised her head right up, looking straight at the humans. Then she ambled over to them, eyes adopting a curious gleam. “She’s our Grulla blanket Appaloosa horse, Midnight Sky.”

Midnight Sky focused her gaze on Cam, whose mouth was agape, in awe of the pretty young horse. “You can pet her if you want. She loves to be petted,” Georgia reassured. Shyly, Cam gently reached his hand out, putting it right on Midnight Sky’s face. The horse barely reacted, simply blinking before letting out a low, pleased neigh.

“She’s nice,” Cam mused, cheeks turning pink with delight.

“Ain’t she? She’s well behaved and faster than a rampaging bull on the hot side of a rodeo!” Georgia was almost radiant. “Oh!” Then her face turned hot and she hid it behind her hands. “Why did I have to say that?!”

Cam didn’t mind. Then again, Georgia had always been self-conscious of her accent. At this point, he had made his decision. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow Midnight Sky. She looks agile enough,” Cam told her.

Once her embarrassment was pushed to the side, Georgia smiled again. “She’ll be ready for you when you leave tomorrow.”

Mode of transportation secured, Cam explained some details to Georgia for her to keep in mind: He would be leaving for Konohana at 8:00 AM, that way he could go over the mountain and get to Konohana by noon at the earliest. Again, that was assuming he didn’t hit any delays along the way. She had to be ready by then, which was alright with her. Taking care of animals did require getting up early in the morning, so she had that down pat. Now that everything was set, Cam left Georgia’s farm and was ready for tomorrow. He was going to get that bouquet delivered by tomorrow night.

* * *

When Cam woke up, he saw that the sky was dark. Thick, deep grey clouds blanketed the sky, giving Bluebell a desolate grey hue that betrayed its normally lively atmosphere. Was it going to Rain? The weather report on his radio hadn’t said anything about rain. But he had a big plastic poncho he could use just in case, so he put it on, threw on some wellington boots, put the bouquet underneath the front of his poncho and made his way to the farm. Georgia was outside and handed Midnight Sky over to him, along with a bag of oats for her to eat when she got tired and a plastic bag for the bouquet.

Not wanting to waste time, Cam said a quick goodbye and rode off toward the mountain. The mountain itself wasn’t huge by any means, not as tall as many of the big mountains that reached toward the clouds. But the townspeople always referred to it as a mountain regardless. Trees with thick green foliage greeted him as he urged Midnight Sky to dash through the forest. Her hooves thundered with every step she ran, running right past rows of bushes. Some animals even had to get out of the way, like foxes and quails. One red fox in particular managed to leap out of the horse’s way just before she came too close. Still, Cam could feel and smell a heaviness in the air. Rain was about to fall.

Midnight Sky ran through the small ponds, her hooves sending water flying in big droplets and splashes when they made contact. Cam clutched onto her reins tightly, keeping his eyes on the grassy road ahead of him. He had to watch out for any potential obstacles, like a fallen tree, a stray animal, or even people. The last thing he wanted was to put himself and Midnight Sky in danger, and considering how dark the sky looked, it seemed like danger was tailing him. He kept the bouquet in the two plastic bags Georgia gave him and underneath his poncho. It seemed safe enough, and it was right in between his legs, bouncing with every movement Midnight Sky made.

Water plopped onto his face. Then a few droplets. Cam looked up. The sky had darkened, and he could feel raindrops falling on him. So it decided to rain today after all. He gently beckoned for Midnight Sky to slow down, knowing that making her run too fast in the rain would either make her slip if the ground was wet enough. Midnight Sky went from running through the forest to simply trotting, her hooves merely tapping the ground rather than making the thundering noises they made earlier. By this time, the rain began to fall harder. It wasn’t pouring, nor was it a torrential rain, but it fell just hard enough for Cam to slow down.

“If this keeps up, I may need to find shelter,” Cam mused aloud. Midnight Sky was getting wet, and if there were to be thunder or lightning, she might get scared. Georgia didn’t give him any towels he could use to dry her off, or even a coat specially made for horses. Cam chalked that up to her not knowing it was going to rain, so he didn’t blame her for that. Soon, the rain was starting to pound on all sides of him.

“This is bad,” Cam’s voice was growing urgent. A low rumble passed through the sky. Yep, that was a bad sign. Cam gently pulled on Midnight Sky’s reins, making her come to a stop. He looked all around his surroundings. There had to be some shelter around here. He did notice one set of big trees clustered together, along with a set of low bushes. Not perfect, but that could work.

He dismounted quickly, with one hand cradling his bouquet, and the other clutching to Midnight Sky’s reins. “Alright, girl. Come now. We’ll be safe over there,” He gently told her, escorting her to the cluster of trees in question. Midnight Sky did as asked and followed Cam to their shelter.

Cam remembered some of the things Georgia had told him and Laney once about riding horses during the rain. Should someone and their horse get caught up in a thunderstorm, they needed to find a low place to hide. Avoid high areas, such as hilltops. That was going to be a problem, since he and the horse were halfway up a mountain. There was no going back down now. Cam tied Midnight Sky’s reins around the branch of a small bush, hoping it would hold. That was what one was supposed to do when they needed to take shelter. Then he moved a couple feet away from Midnight Sky, squatted, wrapped his arms around his knees and curled downward. Georgia told him once that this was what people were supposed to do during a storm, that way they wouldn’t be high up enough, should any lightning strike.

“Darn…” Cam cursed himself for not having seen this coming. “I should have taken it there yesterday when the weather was clear…”

Stuck in the rain with a horse and a bouquet of flowers he needed to deliver by tonight, Cam could only squat and hope that the rain would pass right through. Water rained down on the mountain, rustling all the leaves on the trees and drowning the world beneath the clouds. The grass beneath Cam’s feet began to soak up the water and grow soggy underneath his boots. Midnight Sky didn’t mind too much. She amused herself with eating some of the wet grass, not minding the rain on her mane and hide one bit. Cam looked down at the bouquet. Not a single petal fell off, nor was any flower damaged or disfigured. A smile spread across his face. Good, the flowers were safe. For now, at least.

The roaring rainfall echoed all throughout the forest, like a strong wind was blowing. Cam did notice that he didn’t hear any more thunder. Perhaps that one rumble from earlier was a one time thing. He wasn’t sure how long he sat under that one cluster of trees. Gradually, the roars of the downpour began to subside. In turn, the rain began to lessen until it was nothing more than a gentle drizzle. Cam stood up. The rain had let up! Maybe now would be a good time to get back on the road. But he needed to be careful this time and have Midnight Sky walk slowly. With that in mind, he untied Midnight Sky from the bush, hoisted himself on her back, and gently beckoned her to walk onward. In response, the Appaloosa shook her head, shaking the water out of her mane, even though Cam found that redundant since it was still raining. But she did start walking right afterward.

With every step her hooves made on the soggy mountain path, the rain that gave their mountain path a good bath began to lessen even more, to the point where Cam could only feel just a few drops. The clouds were beginning to part as well, though he could only make out a small piece of bright blue sky. That was a good sign. It was still daylight out. He hoped he could get to Konohana before it got dark. Thankfully for him, his hopes were confirmed when he saw they passed the Harvest Goddess’s spring. With that, the hard part of the travel was done. Getting down the mountain was much easier, and took up much less energy.

By the time they made it down the mountain, the rain had stopped completely, and the clouds parted enough to show a big chunk of blue sky. Cam beamed when he saw crepuscular rays poking through the cracks in the clouds. The worst was finally over. He looked down at the bouquet. Sure enough, it was the same as it was before, untouched and undamaged. He could still deliver it on time! Soon, colorful houses with wavy, clay roof tiles came into view. Bamboo thickets sprung up from the ground, taller than Cam and Midnight Sky combined. Of course, there were plenty of regular trees all around.

Konohana had a unique beauty of its own. Old fashioned, traditional, two-storey houses lined the dirt paths, all built on stone foundations, all donning clay roof tiles. He heard someone say that the clay shingles were used to protect against fires, since many Konohana houses were made of wood. Small, stone paths laid in front of said houses, covered in brown marks from so many mud-covered feet treading over them every day. Neatly trimmed hedges lined practically every side of the roads, looking perfectly regal and elegant, with not a single leaf or shoot out of place. Clear water lined a stream that cut right through the middle of town, with tiny bubbles floating aimlessly along, reflecting the sunlight, making it look almost white in some places. Cam pulled the card out from his pocket. It had bent in half from staying in his pocket for so long, but the writing was still legible. According to the card, Gombe’s Seeds should be around here somewhere…

It didn’t take long for Cam to find it. The establishment in question was one of two houses that was entirely white with a yellow roof. “Here it is!” Cam exclaimed, proud to have finally managed to get here before dark. His mission was a complete success! Knowing there was no time to waste, he dismounted, tied Midnight Sky to a nearby pole, carried the bouquet in his hands, and walked over to the house before knocking. He could only hope that someone was home so they could receive the bouquet.

“Coming!” A friendly, female voice replied from inside, much sweeter than Laney’s.

Not long after, a woman answered the door, her long, raven black hair swaying in the breeze. Cam had to admit, this girl was definitely quite pretty, with her fair skin and soft brown eyes. It certainly helped that the woman wore a pretty shirt and long skirt that went all the way down to her ankles, both of which were displaying an abundance of pinks and reds in different designs and patterns. Wrapped around her forehead was a dark pink hair band with pale pink flowers all over it.

“Oh! You must be Cam!” The woman greeted him warmly, clasping her small hands together. “I’m Nori. I was the one who sent the request for the bouquet,” She explained.

Cam’s grin widened. “I see. Well, here you are,” He gingerly handed it to Nori, who in turn took it out of his hands.

Immediately, Nori’s eyes were alive with joy. “My, it’s even better than I imagined!” Nori beamed, cradling the bouquet in her arms as if it were a baby. “Thank you ever so much. My cousin’s getting married soon, and I thought something like this would be perfect for her wedding.”

“I hope she likes it.”

Nori then rummaged through her pocket and pulled some dollar bills out. “Here’s your payment. I hope you have a good day.”

“Thanks. You do the same.”

Flashing a warm smile, Cam accepted his payment and waved goodbye before finally leaving. A feeling of accomplishment welled up inside him. He managed to deliver the bouquet without trouble! Not even the rain could stop him from delivering those flowers. Cam felt like he could take on the world. As he walked further down the road, he happened to look up right at that moment, and stopped in his tracks. His hazel eyes widened in awe as he gazed upon a rainbow, high in the sky, arching over Konohana in a perfect semicircle. It was faint, but Cam could see it perfectly, even if there were still some thick grey clouds sneaking up behind it, preventing the sun from giving the rainbow much more luster.

“Wow...a rainbow all the way out here…” Cam whispered to no one in particular. He then noticed one end of the rainbow reached down into a small clearing just past some woods nearby. Did that end of the rainbow lead to something? Cam had heard stories about people finding pots of gold at the end of a rainbow, or other treasures, but he always dismissed those as myths. Still, Cam’s curiosity was piqued. Maybe he could just take a quick look. It wouldn’t hurt to do just that. He untied Midnight Sky from the post, gently taking her with him as he walked over to the clearing.

Only for him to discover that it wasn’t a clearing at all. Waiting for him at the end of the rainbow was a beautiful flower garden that seemed to come right out of Eden. The country air was sweet with the scents of the myriad flowers mingling together, caressing his nostrils, welcoming him to this intoxicating sanctuary. Meek and demure buttercups, their round petals bright yellow like the sun. White and purple columbines, their star-like petals spread wide open and eager to take in sunlight. Deep blue gentians, vivacious and vivid, standing out from the crowd. Clusters of deep red verbenas, their crimson blooms intense and exaggerated. Those were only a few flowers that Cam could identify amongst this rainbow of colorful blooms, and they all stretched far into the horizon.

“Goodness...look at all these flowers!” Beaming, Cam fell to his knees, his hands moving on their own as they gathered flowers. “I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture of all this!” The thrill of this discovery was enough to make Cam positively radiant with joy. For any lover of flowers, this little slice of paradise was straight out of heaven.

But he couldn’t afford to dawdle here. He still needed to get home before dark, and he wasn’t sure if the weather were to turn again. As much as he wanted to stay here, he didn’t want Laney and Howard to worry about his absence. Still, he did managed to find something wonderful today. He hopped back onto Midnight Sky, removing his soaked poncho and gingerly wrapping it over the flowers he took from the field. He already found himself thinking that the Gentians would look wonderful in the cafe.

“Alright, girl. Let’s head back home,” Cam took the reins in his hands and encouraged his steed to head up the mountain.

There was no possible way for Cam to forget the wonderful treasure he found at the end of the rainbow. Perhaps there really was gold at the end of rainbows after all, just not the kind of gold one would expect. One thing was for sure: When Cam got home, he was going to tell Laney, Howard, Georgia, and everyone else all about it.


End file.
